World Parkinson’s Day: Bial Launches ‘Me At My Best’ to Raise Awareness, Help Patients

Bial, a Portugal-based pharmaceutical company, launched an international campaign for World Parkinson’s Day — recognized today, April 11 — to raise awareness and help people living with Parkinson’s disease.

The campaign, called “Me At My Best,” aims to show that it is possible for many who have Parkinson’s to live a normal life and successfully perform everyday tasks.

Bial invited people with Parkinson’s to star in a video that shows them at their best, concentrating on the everyday tasks they are able to do instead of what they cannot do: putting on makeup, buttoning up shirts, tying their shoes, even playing the guitar and dancing. The video shows people doing these simple tasks with a cheerful, feel-good background tune that was created for the campaign that tells listeners to “hold your pity, please. I’m more than my disease.” One of the video’s slogan’s is “Dignity should never wear off.”

The campaign is featured on Bial’s website, across Bial’s social media and on the European Parkinson’s Disease Association’s (EPDA) social media channels.

Living with Parkinson’s is a real challenge. For the 10 million people around the world living with the disease, being unable to control their own body poses significant daily challenges. Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive movement disorder, meaning that symptoms continue and worsen over time. Parkinson’s involves the malfunction and death of neurons, the vital nerve cells in the brain. Early symptoms include shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty with walking. Thinking and behavioral problems may also occur.

For those who live with these symptoms and for their families, Parkinson’s means much more than just physical symptoms: It can also mean a loss of their independence.

“Parkinson’s can really change people’s lives, but it’s very important that they do not lose their self-esteem. That is why we wanted to counter the negative portraits of people with Parkinson’s and show everyone what they really can do,” António Portela, CEO of Bial, said in a news release about the campaign.

“Hopefully, we can inspire and empower the millions of people living with Parkinson’s to never give up on their dignity. BIAL’s aim is to help the lives of people with Parkinson’s even if it’s to help with one small thing at a time,” he added.